buzo: b.o.b. (best of buzo) dinner, Woollahra

by lex on October 17, 2011

upstairs dining

Sticky beef ribs, vincisgrassi, sgroppino, torta di verona… all synonymous with buzo restaurant in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. It feels like we’ve known about buzo forever, but truth be told we only dined at buzo for the first time in early 2009, though it seems hard to believe.

For many buzo has been a favourite for years. When we heard they were holding a special ‘best of buzo’ dinner to celebrate a decade of buzo there was no second thought, we would be there. We felt privileged to share this special night with Traci, Todd, James and crew, regular buzo diners and friends, including Carm from La Casa, Grooviegal from Twitter, Poppy from Coast and David Tsirekas from Xanthi.

It’s amazing what fennel and lemon can do to little green olives, the flavour is enhanced and these little babies never last long.

sicilian green olives, fennel & lemon

2003 – inspired by a trip to modena – gnocco fritto (fried pastries with goats cheese and coppa and salami).

Two little puffs with a great crunch, one filled with goats cheese and one without, both topped with coppa, salami and shavings of parmigiano. Tricky to eat without making a mess, but totally delicious.

gnocco fritto (fried pastries with goats cheese and coppa and salami)

2004 – created for a staff dinner on a saturday night, it was on the menu monday – savoy cabbage, pecorino, pine nuts, raisins and pangrattato.

I remember the first time we tried this salad, it was brought out as a complimentary side on one of our first visits. I really didn’t think we would eat it. Little did I know. It’s not just a salad, it’s totally amazing. The combination of crispy cabbage and nutty pecorino is just awesome, while the juicy raisins lift it even more. And who doesn’t like little crispy bits of pangrattato – in anything?! So so so good – only kind of ‘coleslaw’ I will ever eat (you know me and my condiments).

savoy cabbage, pecorino, pine nuts, raisins and pangrattato

2009 – we resisted putting gnocchi on the menu until sometime in 09 we cracked – potato gnocchi, braised duck ragu and parmigiano.

Em’s favourite dish, she never orders anything else. Pillowy soft gnocchi the only way it ever should be, just melt in the mouth and with a rich ragu of braised and pulled duck meat.

Another dish I just didn’t ‘get’ on the buzo menu… until we tried them. Juicy and amazing, totally love the chilli kick and citrus bite from the lemon. Drizzled with the balsamico it is all just topped off nicely. Little morsels of deliciousness.

deep fried chicken wings, chilli, fennel pollen and aged balsamico

2001 – chefs don’t speak of this dish it never made it up the road sshhh – calamari ripieni with tomato sugo.

The only course on the menu none of our party had ever had before. We were torn with Mr O and I loving it, and Em and Dylan nonplussed. The stuffed calamari was tender and juicy, the stuffing was a little salty but balanced out by the rich tomato sauce.

calamari ripieni with tomato sugo

2001 – inspired by franco taruschio at the walnut tree and adapted over the years as fashion came and went. originally had cream and truffle oil no longer – vincisgrassi.

Never been to buzo? Go. Now. Order the vincisgrassi. It’s amazeballs. Very very rich and decadent, we usually share one as it can be pretty full on (and we never order lightly at buzo). Pasta, mushroom, truffle, cheese… need I say more?

vincisgrassi

2008 – pete a canadian chef who worked with us for years pushed for ribs and in 08 we jumped with the help of KB lager – rosticciana (braised beef short rib, rosemary, lemon and vin cotto).

Mr O has never eaten at buzo and not ordered the rosticciana. Their inclusion on the b.o.b. menu is testament to the fact that he’s not alone. The beef ribs just fall apart and melt in the mouth. Juicy, rich, amazingly gorgeous. Rosemary and lemon just work so so well with the ribs, they’re good. Vincotto sauce is really sweet, rich and caramelised. Love it. Dylan on the other hand couldn’t even look at the ribs, he looked like he might explode at some point during the meal and had to skip a course… why oh why he chose this course I don’t know (I don’t think he was in his right mind!)

rosticciana (braised beef short rib, rosemary, lemon and vin cotto)

2001 – this dish was created by the late ian mccullough, a scientist and wonderful pastry chef – torta di verona.

Torta di verona, or ‘torta di doully’ as we call it. A dish my friend Doully just adores… before the torta di verona there was the baked chocolate, but as soon as he had a taste of the torta di verona it was game over, I felt sorry for the baked chocolate as it never got a second glance after this. Sometimes we go to buzo just for dessert… but I have to say it’s not my fav, I still have a soft spot for the baked chocolate and the amazing meyer lemon cheesecake (drool).

torta di verona

The b.o.b. dinner made me realise we don’t get the buzo nearly often enough. Lucky we’ve already booked in our traditional buzo Christmas dinner so I know I’ll get another hit soon.

Due to popular demand, buzo are holding one more b.o.b. dinner on Monday 14th November. Not sure if they have any seats left but I would totally book it if I were you. At $100 a head, you’re in for an epic night.

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Well I can’t say enough about Buzo Trattoria’s BOB dinner it was fantastic as ever. The gnocchi is and always will be my fav dish the other night I ordered a main size order of it with lamb ragu yummy. I do recommend having the sgroppino for dessert as well as another yummy delight. From my experience the staff are always so attentive & friendly couldn’t ask for anything more. Buzo always pride them self as a friendly neighbourhood restaurant they have a lot of longtime regulars.